Step 1
Which case is yours?
Costa Rica’s customs policy treats a new resident and a returning Costa Rican differently. Pick the one that describes your move; each has its own section below.
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You are not Costa Rican and are moving there as a resident
Household-goods import, taxes paid
Once, through a customs agent, with a sworn itemised list. The Law 9996 exemption closed to new claims on 14 July 2026, so the goods pay import duty, the 1% levy and 13% VAT.
See this path -
You are Costa Rican and coming home after 24 months or more abroad
Law 6986 household-goods exemption
Applied for at the Ministry of Finance’s Exemptions Department. Used goods from the country where you lived; the exemption may not cover every tax.
See this path
14 July 2026
What changed for new residents
Law 9996, the law to attract investors, rentistas and pensionados, was published in La Gaceta on 14 July 2021. Among its benefits was a one-time exemption from import taxes on a new resident’s household goods (article 5). Article 12 allowed claims only in the five years from publication. That period ended on 14 July 2026.
What still applies
Customs’ household-goods policy still admits a foreigner who acquires residence to the household-goods import modality, once, counted from the date residence is granted. The policy names no exemption for a new foreign resident.
What that means for your shipment
A new resident’s household goods are now declared and taxed like any other definitive import: import duty at the tariff line’s rate, the 1% levy and 13% VAT, computed in that order. The next section shows how.
Some moving guides written for people in the US still describe the exemption as available. If a guide you are reading does, check its date against 14 July 2026.
A · New residents
How the taxes stack
Costa Rica’s customs authority sets out the computation in its instructive MH-DGA-PRO09-INS-004 (August 2023). Each tax is added only where the goods’ tariff line carries it, and each is computed on a base that includes the ones before it.
- Import duty (DAI). The customs value, in colones, times the rate of the goods’ tariff line.
- Selective consumption tax, where the line carries one. On the customs value plus the duty.
- The 1% levy of Law 6946. On the customs value.
- Value-added tax, 13%. On the customs value plus every tax before it.
The instructive’s own example
The instructive works one import through: cotton trousers shipped from Miami, a customs value of US$9,600 at 602 colones to the dollar, on a line with a 14% duty and no selective tax.
| Step | Colones | Share of the customs value |
|---|---|---|
| Customs value (US$9,600 × 602) | 5,779,200.00 | 100% |
| Import duty (DAI), 14% of the customs value | 809,088.00 | 14.00% |
| Law 6946 levy, 1% of the customs value | 57,792.00 | 1.00% |
| VAT, 13% of 6,646,080.00 (value + duty + levy) | 863,990.40 | 14.95% |
| Taxes in total | 1,730,870.40 | 29.95% |
That is not the rate on household goods. The example is clothing, and the instructive states no rate for furniture, appliances or any other household-goods line. About 30% is what the cascade produces at a 14% duty. The rate on your goods depends on each item’s tariff line, and the customs agent computes it when the declaration is filed.
How the import is declared
From customs’ household-goods policy (MH-DGA-PRO01-POL-001):
- Through a customs agent. The declaration is filed by an authorised customs agent or agency.
- In your name. The importer is the person named as consignee on the bill of lading, air waybill or consignment note. It cannot be endorsed or transferred.
- From where you lived. The goods must come from the country where the importer lived.
- With a sworn itemised list. Each item with its description, brand, model and serial number, whether new or used, the quantity and a unit value in US dollars. Consolidated or global invoices are not accepted.
- With a signed sworn declaration. You declare under oath that you meet the policy’s requirements.
- In household quantities. Goods for the direct use of you and your immediate family, rational and proportionate: appliances, furniture, bedding, lamps, kitchenware, a computer, hand tools, a bicycle, and toys where there are children.
What the modality does not cover
The policy excludes construction materials, electrical installation material, professional and technical equipment, vehicles, motorcycles and boats, machinery and machine tools, laboratory, clinic and workshop equipment, professional furniture and prefabricated buildings. Tourists and foreigners in transit cannot use the modality.
B · Returning Costa Ricans
The Law 6986 exemption after 24 months abroad
Customs’ household-goods policy states that Costa Ricans of age who stayed abroad for at least 24 consecutive months before returning for good may opt for the tax exemption of Law 6986. The application goes to the Exemptions Department of the Directorate General of Finance.
The conditions, as a carrier restates the law
The text of Law 6986 article 21(a) could not be read from Costa Rica’s legal information system. The conditions below are taken from a freight carrier’s restatement of that article (updated December 2019), listed in the sources as secondary. Confirm them with the Exemptions Department.
- Household goods are the goods for the comfort or adornment of a home, including one microcomputer up to US$1,500 CIF. In principle, one appliance of each kind.
- The goods must be used, owned and in use for more than six months, and come from the country where you lived.
- Not household goods: baggage, construction materials, jacuzzis, electrical switches, floor tiles, electric garage gates and office equipment.
- The exemption may not be total: customs can charge some taxes once it has checked the goods.
- Apply within six months of arriving in Costa Rica, and use the exemption within nine. It is granted to one member of the family unit.
- Time spent in Costa Rica on visits during the 24 months is deducted. A Costa Rican consulate can certify your residence abroad.
Customs’ policy sets this exemption out within the household-goods modality, whose declaration an authorised customs agent or agency files.
Side by side
The two paths, compared
Rows marked (†) rest on the carrier’s restatement of Law 6986 article 21(a), the page’s one secondary source.
| Question | A. New resident household-goods import, taxes paid | B. Returning Costa Rican Law 6986 exemption |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | A foreigner granted residence in Costa Rica. Foreigners with a valid work or study permit, and foreigners who own or rent a home there for at least six months, may use the same modality. | A Costa Rican of age who stayed abroad at least 24 consecutive months before returning for good. |
| Exemption from import taxes | None. Law 9996’s household-goods exemption closed to new claims on 14 July 2026. | Yes, under Law 6986. It may not be total: customs can still charge some taxes once it has checked the goods (†). |
| How often | Once, counted from the date residence is granted. | Granted to one member of the family unit (†). |
| Customs agent | Yes. The declaration is filed by an authorised customs agent or agency. | Customs’ policy sets the exemption out within the household-goods modality, whose declaration an authorised customs agent or agency files. |
| Where it is decided | At customs, on the declaration your customs agent files. | The Exemptions Department of the Directorate General of Finance (Dirección General de Hacienda). |
| Timing | The customs policy counts the right from the date residence is granted. | Apply within six months of arriving; use the exemption within nine (†). |
On neither path is a vehicle part of the household goods: the modality excludes cars, motorcycles and boats.
Your shipment
Where Ruby International fits
We move households internationally, door to door, from the United States. Under Costa Rica’s household-goods policy, the import is declared by a customs agent, with a sworn itemised list in the importer’s name.
- New resident (A): Your residence comes first, because the modality counts from the date it is granted. Tell us what you are shipping and where to, and we will quote the move.
- Returning Costa Rican (B): The exemption is your own application to the Exemptions Department, with its six-month window from arrival. Tell us your dates and what you are bringing, and we will quote the move around them.
We do not give legal, tax or customs advice. Which path applies is set by your situation and decided by Costa Rica’s authorities; the duty is computed by the customs agent at declaration.
Ruby Moves made our move from Costa Rica back to FL smooth from the very first phone call! Their pricing was by far better than other international movers & offered more personalized service. We need some information from the move a year later and they had us everything we needed asap! Their communication was by far better than a previous company we used. They communicated even when there really wasn’t much to tell us but at least we know we were not just a number! Their entire staff is excellent, efficient & make you feel like you are their number one priority! You won’t be disappointed with Ruby Moves!!!
Frequently asked
Questions
Can a pensionado, rentista or investor resident still import household goods duty-free?
Not as a new claim. Law 9996 allowed claims only in the five years from its publication on 14 July 2021, and that period ended on 14 July 2026. Customs’ household-goods policy gives a new resident the import modality with no exemption.
How much duty will I pay on furniture and appliances?
This page does not state a rate, because none was read for any household-goods tariff line. The duty depends on each item’s line, and your customs agent computes it at declaration. What the customs authority does publish is the order: duty, the 1% levy, then 13% VAT on the total. In its own example, clothing at a 14% duty, the taxes come to 29.95% of the customs value.
Do I need a customs agent?
Yes. Customs’ policy requires the household-goods declaration to be filed by an authorised customs agent or agency.
Do I need receipts for everything?
The declaration is based on a sworn itemised list you prepare, with an estimated value for each item. Consolidated or global invoices are not accepted.
Can I bring my car with my household goods?
Not as household goods. The modality excludes vehicles, motorcycles and boats; importing a car is a separate procedure.
I am Costa Rican but have lived abroad for less than 24 months. Does the exemption apply?
The exemption in customs’ policy is for Costa Ricans abroad at least 24 consecutive months. The policy admits Costa Ricans back after six continuous months abroad to the household-goods modality itself. Ask the Exemptions Department about your case.
Sources and review date
Everything this page says about the rules comes from these pages: the official ones and, where marked, one secondary source. Last checked: .
- Política General para la Importación en la modalidad de "Menaje de Casa" (MH-DGA-PRO01-POL-001, September 2020)Dirección General de Aduanas, Ministerio de Hacienda de Costa RicaWho may use the household-goods modality and how it is declared: once for a new resident, through a customs agent, with a sworn itemised list; what it excludes; the Law 6986 exemption for Costa Ricans back after 24 months.Read on .
- Instructivo para el cálculo de la obligación tributaria aduanera (MH-DGA-PRO09-INS-004, August 2023)Dirección General de Aduanas, Ministerio de Hacienda de Costa RicaHow customs computes the taxes on a definitive import, in order, and its worked example at a 14% duty.Read on .
- La Gaceta of 14 July 2021: Ley 9996, Ley para la atracción de inversionistas, rentistas y pensionadosImprenta Nacional de Costa RicaThe one-time household-goods exemption for pensionado, rentista and investor residents (article 5), open only to claims made in the five years from publication (article 12).Read on .
- Gestión de ExencionesMinisterio de Hacienda de Costa RicaThe Ministry's exemptions office, where a returning Costa Rican applies for the Law 6986 exemption.Read on .
- Costa Rica: importaciones libres del pago de impuestos / menajes de casaAlasLatinas (a freight carrier)Secondary source, not official.Restates Law 6986 article 21(a) and its conditions (page updated December 2019). The law's own text could not be read, so these conditions are stated on this page's authority.Read on .
Rules and fees change. Before acting, confirm with the official source. This page explains the procedures; it is not legal or customs advice. Customs decides how your goods are treated.
Planning a move to Costa Rica?
Tell us where you are moving from, where in Costa Rica you are going, and which of the two paths is yours. We will reply with a quote for your shipment.